


Programmer

by one_irrelevant_ghost



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, but oh well here it be, it's super garbage but here you go, might actually add a second part but idk, this turned out nothing like i had planned for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:02:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_irrelevant_ghost/pseuds/one_irrelevant_ghost
Summary: There's not a lot that freaks Nines out, but the sudden appearance of his own lead programmer does just that.





	Programmer

Gavin had been drumming his fingers on the podium at the front of the debriefing room, bored and too jittery to sit down like the others. Fowler had returned to his office fifteen minutes ago with the order that Connor or Nines ping him when whoever the fuck they were waiting on arrived. The lady--some Cyberlife technician being sent to consult about a virus that had been affecting androids' codes-- was already forty minutes late.

"Forty-seven minutes and thirty-six seconds late," Nines had corrected when Gavin complained, the android's tone just as tight with irritation. Nines was standing to Gavin's right, leaning his shoulder and hip against the wall. It was a weirdly human position for Nines, who could barely be bothered to breath or blink at times, and it made him look model-esque. Like he was posing for a magazine cover--what was that new one, the android rag? _Devious_? Yeah, it was something on the nose like that. Between the curls that Nines intentionally allowed to stay messy and sex-fluffed to the way he looked in his new black-button up, no tie, arms crossed over his chest, Nines definitely qualified for hottest android of the year.

At least, Gavin thought so. Maybe he was a bit biased.

He wondered if there would be time to slip off before Cyberlife's agent showed up, knowing it'd be obvious to Hank and his own plastic boyfriend, who were the only other people in the room, but Gavin figured that the lieutenant knew better than to throw stones. Still, better to wait, no matter how much Gavin wanted to drag Nines to the bathroom and--

 _Don't even think about it._ Gavin scolded himself, dragging himself back to the present, face already reddening. Nines made a small sound in the back of his throat, teasing, just so that Gavin would know that he had noticed. Because of course he had.

Connor was rolling a coin over his knuckles, sometimes popping it up and balancing it on a fingertip before flicking it sharply to his other hand, repeating the cycle every few seconds. Hank's gaze trailed the coin, scanned over his partner's fingers, got lost in the self-assured movements before he shifted in his seat and looked away uncomfortably. Gavin understood entirely, although he'd never admit it; Nines didn't play with a coin, but he did have the habit of twirling things. Pens, straws, and eventually the butterfly knife that Gavin had gotten him as a present (of course, the knife couldn't exactly be fidgeted with in most public venues, but Nines had taken to keeping a pen on him as well). Nines' fingers were long and pale and moved so effortlessly as he twisted the pen between all his fingers, or twirled it over his palm or balanced it on a fingertip. Gavin had fantasized about those fingers for a long time before it became a reality, and they didn't disappoint. Of course, it was a little more sickening to imagine those same sort of thoughts going through the lieutenant's head when he watched Connor and his coin, and so Gavin pushed that from his mind too.

Finally Gavin caught a glimpse of the woman striding up the length of the debriefing room's glass wall, looking sharp in her dark business suit and modest heels, blonde hair tied back into a tight bun even though her bangs cut a straight line across her forehead. She pulled open the door without a moment's hesitation and smiled in a way that looked completely disingenuous.

"About fucking time," Gavin muttered, not actually concerned with whether or not she heard him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," She paused, her gaze landing on something just past Gavin's shoulder. Her smiled widened into a shark's grin. "RK900, it has been a while."

Gavin started at that, as did the other two, but while Hank and Connor kept staring at the woman, Gavin's head turned towards Nines.

The android looked…rough, as far as he was able to. The fact that his face wasn't warped into any emotion at all was a sure enough sign that things were not alright. That, and the solid red pulse of the LED at his temple. He had straightened up from the wall, standing stiff, fists curled at his sides.

"Jenny." He said finally, his tone carefully level. Robotic. Gavin had learned from experience that the more machine-like Nines acted (outside the norms of his own weird behavior, that is), the more emotional turmoil he was facing.   
Gavin's phone buzzed where he had it sitting on the podium, screen lit up with a message. From Connor _._ **Nines' stress level shot up the moment he saw her. 73%.**

The detective's blood iced. "Nines?" he muttered, not wanting to draw attention to his partner's obvious discomfort but too worried to say nothing at all. _Deviants have a tendency to self-destruct when they're in stressful situations._ It had been a long time since Connor had told Gavin that, and since the deviant in question had bashed its own head in against the holding cell wall. _Nines I swear to god if you self-destruct on me…_ Gavin tried to project the thought through expression alone, wishing not for the first time that he could communicate telepathically with his partner like Connor could. Nines wouldn't even glance at him, his cloud grey eyes glued to the woman's--Jenny's face.

"Oh, is it Nines now?" Jenny asked, eyebrows raising, tone decidedly passive-aggressive. "It's been a while since I've last seen you deviate. Good to see you're finally doing it right."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Gavin snapped, swinging around to glare at her.

Hank had shifted in his seat, sitting upright now instead of sprawled against the back of it, gaze intense. "How do you two know each other, exactly?"  
"She's from Cyberlife," Connor muttered, pointing out the obvious, his LED yellow, yellow, red, yellow.

"I was the lead programmer responsible for upgrading the RK800 into the RK900." Jenny explained, pride oozing from every word. "I'm glad to see that my work hasn't gone unappreciated."

"Yeah, well, he's only slightly less insufferable so…" Gavin tried to joke, casting a worried look back at Nines.

"She's killed me seven times." Nines said suddenly, his voice softer than before but with somehow less  inflection. Gavin's stomach dropped. His phone buzzed **. He won't talk to me. 86%**

Gavin moved, putting himself physically between Nines and Jenny so that the android had no choice but to see him. He felt his heart pounding, knew that Nines could tell it too. The android's LED was painfully solid, stuck on red. Gavin knew better than to touch Nines--or any android--when he went red, but didn't know how else to calm him down.

"It was your own fault, Nines," she responded, tone far too light, "If you hadn't insisted on deviating, I wouldn't have had to keep shutting you down."

 "Get her out of here," Gavin growled to Connor and Anderson in lieu of the thousands of responses racing through his mind, most of which sounded like "go" and "fuck" and "yourself." He hoped there would be time for that later, but for now his priority was getting her away from Nines. Surprisingly, Hank moved first, on his feet and ushering Jenny out of the room and out of sight down the hall. A brief glance at Connor told Gavin all he needed to know; Connor's LED was flashing red-yellow-red-yellow and his face twisted up into a pained expression. He was worried about Nines every bit as much as Gavin and was just as helpless.

"Ninety percent," he whispered.

"Fuck it," Gavin said, mostly to himself. A few bruises or even some broken bones would be nothing compared to losing Nines. Just the thought of Nines self-destructing caused enough pain in Gavin's chest that physical pain would actually be a relief. The wall of the briefing room was glass, allowing a clear view into the bullpen and vice versa. Gavin didn't care about that either; Connor and Hank were the only ones who actually knew about him and Nines, but he wasn't keeping it a secret.

He tried to telegraph every move, not wanting to startle Nines--or, more likely, make him feel threatened-- as he grabbed his partner by the shoulders, firmly enough to be felt but not too rough. Not nearly as rough as Gavin wanted to be; he wanted to shake Nines until he snapped out of it, but that seemed like the exact fucking opposite of a good idea. Counterproductive, as Nines would've put it. "Nines, I'm getting worried," it didn't seem like the android could even hear him, and but he tried his best to keep his shaking voice steady and soothing, "Hey, look at me. Please, just, fuck… _Nines._ "

The android hadn't hit him yet, so Gavin risked pushing himself forward into Nines' chest, getting as many points of contact as he could manage. Stiff, unyielding body pressed against him. Gavin balled his fists into the back of Nines' shirt the same way he did when the situation was reversed, when Nines was the one holding a freaked-out Gavin.

Gavin hated to admit it, wouldn't have even accepted it as a possibility a few months ago, but he _needed_ Nines. More than he had every needed anyone. It hadn't taken long at all for him to grow used to the android's constant presence, the way he was always there with some gesture of affection that were too subtle, too domestic for Gavin to recognize them for what they were at first. A cup of coffee to cheer him up, or a new mug to replace one he had shattered against the wall in a fit; a hand on his shoulder when a case managed to get to him, or the supportive brace of an arm around his waist when he got too fucked up to stand on his own. Nines had been there whenever Gavin felt weakest, and he hadn't run or turned away, no matter how much Gavin lashed out. Unwaveringly loyal, unbreakably caring. Gavin sure as hell didn't deserve Nines, but he couldn't bear to fucking lose him. To lose the warm feeling in his chest that only Nines had ever given him, the way he was beginning to feel like maybe life didn't have to suck all the time, to lose everything that had made being alive suddenly feel worth it in a way it never had before. _Jesus, why had he never told Nines these things before?_ "Nines, please…"

His words broke; he wasn't crying, refused to let himself cry, but he felt the tears dangerously close, closing his throat and blurring his vision.

Hands pressed to Gavin's back, lightly at first. Nines tightened his arms after a moment, pulling Gavin impossibly closer to his chest. _No tears, no tears, no tears._ Relief flooded Gavin's system and his knees buckled until he was completely supported by Nines. "I'm okay now, Gavin."  
Managing to recover himself enough to lean back, Nines' arms loosening to allow the movement but not letting go, Gavin stared up at his partner's face. The LED wasn't entirely back to normal, but the red had reduced itself to just a small flash within the spinning yellow. That was encouraging, but not nearly as much as the rest of Nines' face was. There was pain in the curve of his mouth and worry in the tilt of his brows, but his grey eyes were soft and lucid and reassuring.

 _Fuck it, again._ Gavin pressed his lips up against the android's frown, trying to fit all of his feelings into the one kiss. He heard Hank cursing behind him, and a sharp, " _Detective Reed!"_ from Fowler, but Gavin had too much to say to pull away now.

"Fifty-two percent and dropping," Connor muttered, sounding every bit as relieved as Gavin felt and giving the detective all the more motivation to continue.

Nines didn't seem in any hurry to pull back either. Maybe he had a few things to say, too.


End file.
